Knit Socks - Betsy Lee Mccarthy [10]
Join by overlapping old and new yarns
• Drop the old yarn, leaving a tail adequate for weaving in later, and begin knitting with the new yarn, also leaving a tail for weaving in. This is what I usually do. The first few times you come around to the place where the new yarn was added, you may want to snug up the two yarn tails. And you may even feel a bit anxious; however, it will all stay together — no need to worry. After that, the knitting itself will hold everything together — really! Avoid any little holes when weaving them in by carrying the old yarn on the diagonal up to the left and the new yarn on the diagonal down to the right. To ensure an invisible join, separate the plies of the yarn ends and weave them in separately.
• When you see that you're about to run out of yarn, carry the new yarn along the back of the work for six or seven stitches before it is needed for knitting in much the same way as is done for stranded Fair Isle knitting.
Carrying new yarn along the back
• “Spit splice” the ends of the old and new yarn together, if the yarn content allows it to felt. For instructions, see Splicing Ends Together, page 123.
Carried yarn on back
• If you're working with a new color, as in striping, you may want to follow the Striping without Jogs instructions, page 58.
Knitting Leg to Heel (and Beyond)
Once you've joined the stitches and are knitting the leg tube on any type of needle, it should be smooth sailing until it's time to work the heel flap. Remember to snug up a bit after the first two new stitches on any new needle or needle tip to help prevent “ladders,” loose places that can show when you move from one needle to the next if you aren't careful.
Many patterns divide the stitches 50-50 between the instep and the heel/sole. Others divide them differently, in order to make the instep pattern stitches symmetrical by adding another stitch or so to the left side of the instep (as you wear the sock) or accounting for a center panel with an uneven number of stitches. So check the pattern to see how many stitches the heel is going to be worked on, and make any transfers that are needed before beginning the heel flap. It's also important to remember that the transfer occurred so that you can reverse it before shaping the toe with 50 percent for the instep and 50 percent for the heel. When moving stitches, remember to slip them purlwise, or “point to point,” so that your stitches are not twisted. When using one long circular needle, however, you will pull up the cord to create the new stitch division.
Making the Heel Flap and Turning the Heel
Heel flaps are made in the same way no matter whether you're working with double point or one or two circular needles. The instep stitches are not used during the heel construction process. Those stitches just wait patiently until the heel is formed and it's time to begin again knitting in the round. Heel turning (see You Can Do It!, page 26) is also done in the same manner on two needle points, either from two different double-point needles, from the two ends of one 24” circular, or from the two tips of one long circular. The process is the same no matter what your choice of needles.
Turning the heel
YOU CAN DO IT!
Someone somewhere started a rumor about heel turning being difficult, if not impossible, to do. Supposedly, this is the part of the sock that's likely to trip up unwary knitters and derail the whole project. This rumor definitely is not true and, in fact, turning the heel of a sock is very possibly the part that you'll find to be the most fun. This is the point when you see an identifiable sock shape emerge and realize that the whole sock will be finished before long — the light at the end of the leg tunnel. The key to turning a heel is to believe the pattern and follow it for a few rows before forging off on your own. Like the heel flap, the heel is turned by working back and forth on two needles/needle tips. When you first read the instructions, you may think they can't be